tire and wheel question
 

Ive got a 2001 X5 3.0 with the stock 18in basic wheels. Ive picked up a chrome set of bmw 20in wheels. the question is about the tire size. If you set the front wheels next to the rears you can see that the front are taller. The tire sizes are fronts 275/45 R20 and the rears are 295/40 R20. Even though they came off of a newer (not sure yr) X5 Im not comfortable putting these on due to the difference. Thanks in advance for the advise.

The three 20" OE wheels for the E53 were Style 87, 168 and 177, from fading memory...
And, OE tire sizes for those wheels were 275/40 20 front and 315/35 20 rear.

Doubt those chrome wheels are oe and since you didn't list the actual wheel dimensions, it is difficult to say if those tire sizes are 'good'/correct, etc.

And, is hub bore size, both front and rear, correct for your E53?

Not sure I understand your question...
GL, mD

MD,

They were given to me without any specs provided. They look just like the style 87 but are chrome and have a chrome center cap with the bmw emblem. I know enough about all wheel drives not to put different size tires on them. I guess I should start out by asking what should i do first to see if they will work. Verify by bolting them up and check for clearance and then find a lower profile tire for the front that matches the back height wise?

Why don't you just put the correct size tire in on the rims that you acquired. Just change out the rear ones to match the diameter of the front ones and your done.

What he said. Use an online tire calculator and match a set of fronts with a set of rears so that the overall rolling diameter is <1% difference and you will be fine.

Edit: The tire sizes you listed above have a 1.5% difference in overall diameter. You could switch the fronts to a 265/45/20 for a 0.3% difference front to back. Or change the rear to a 315/40/20 for a 0.6%

Before spending money for 20" tires that are correct for the e53 X5...I would recommend finding out more information about these wheels.

As mentioned above...the e53 staggered 20" wheels (and 19" wheels) came with different sized tires (this info is on your driver's door and in your owners manual. So if the front wheels are not as wide as the rear wheels...then they will need different sized tires (thus the different aspect ratio numbers...ie 40 vs 35 on the 20" tire recommendation):


The other generation X5s don't have the same center bore as the e53...and I can't think of any that came in "chrome"...so that may mean that they were chromed after the fact...or they are aftermarket wheels. And depending on if they came off the X5M...the front & rear could have different center bores (if oe wheels).

The important information that is missing is the wheel's specs. What are their width (we know that they are 20" wheels)...and what are their offsets? Knowing the aforementioned helps to understand what size tires (width & height) will work on them.

^As always, good info Qsilver. I forgot the wheels had a number of unknowns to them.

BTW, is that the latest iteration of the wheel info chart? I have been saving as it has been added to, but I think the last one I have is nbr 5.

Edit: NM, checked the edit dates. I was one behind if this is the most current.

Yep...this is the latest update. Its actually #6...but after updating the info...I kept the same name. This was done to cut down on having a bunch of old out-dated charts come up when doing a google search.

Thanks for the responses and great info. The wheels im guessing are aftermarket. I found them by googling "bmw chrome wheels style 87" They are staggered 9.5 in front and 10.5 rear. The hubs are both the same measuring 72.5mm. I am keeping the 295/40R20 rears and going with the new fronts 265/45R20.:thumbup:

Curious why you would choose this over a factory setup, 315/35 rear and 275/40 front?

As stated by qsilver, this is the factory size which is located on your door seal. 9.5"x20" and 10.5"x20" are stock wheel size. The only thing left is offset which has nothing to do with tire diameter.